Ferncumbe Primary School

We were selected to construct a 125m² single-storey extension at Ferncumbe Primary School in Hatton, Warwickshire, over a 17-week period.

The project involved:

Pre-contract enabling works to reconfigure access and playground

Construction of a new single storey classroom with traditional cut roof and exposed glulam beams, toilet facilities and group room

Alterations to existing mechanical and electrical services to accommodate the new build

Once completed, the school benefited from an extra classroom and new toilet facilities, making the school a more spacious, modern place in which to teach and learn, improving everyone’s school experience.

During the work, a group of pupils from the school took part in hands-on learning when they paid an educational visit to the site to engage them with the work of the construction industry in their surroundings.

The youngsters, aged six, helped to dig, learned how to lay bricks and how to use spirit levels. Following their visit, they took part in a question and answer session in the classroom.

Ian Hodgkiss, contracts manager at Novus, said: "Working in live school environments can be challenging but we make sure every project is a success by communicating with the school and working in partnership with them. Health and safety is of course of the utmost importance to us.

"It was great to have the Ferncumbe children on the site - they all took an interest in the work we were completing at their school and really engaged with what we were doing. If the visit inspired just one youngster to think more about how they could get involved in construction in the future then it will have been a great success."

The new build was a very positive experience for everyone with an excellent outcome. The teachers were able to use it as a learning opportunity with a whole school literacy focus week on buildings.